Sea levels are rising faster than ever. Here’s where that could have the biggest impact.

In 2024, the hottest year in recorded history, sea levels rose at a rate 35% more than expected, according to a new report from NASA.

The space agency explained on its website that the acceleration of sea level rise "was due to an unusual amount of ocean warming, combined with meltwater from land-based ice such as glaciers."

“The rise we saw in 2024 was higher than we expected,” Josh Willis, a sea level researcher at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California, said in a statement. “Every year is a little bit different, but what’s clear is that the ocean continues to rise, and the rate of rise is getting faster and faster.”

While global average sea levels rose by just 0.23 inches in 2024, that was above the expected rate of 0.17 inches and comes at a time when coastal communities in many parts of the U.S. have been dealing with accelerating rates of rise far higher than the global average. Based on tide gauge data compiled by the Washington Post, sea levels in more than a dozen locations from Texas to North Carolina had risen by 6 inches or more since 2010.

As global temperatures continue to rise, the problem is expected to worsen over the next 25 years.

“Evidence suggests sea level along the U.S. coastline will rise 10 to 12 inches by 2050 — as much as the rise measured from 1920 to 2020,” the Environmental Protection Agency states on its website.

Here’s a sampling of some of the U.S. cities where the seas are rising fastest.

Galveston, Texas

The U.S. community with the dubious distinction as the place where seas are rising the fastest, Galveston has seen 8 inches of sea level rise over just the last 14 years, a 2024 study by the National Wildlife Federation found. As the rate of rise continues to accelerate, and as the barrier island continues to sink, Galveston could see anywhere between 3 to 8 feet of additional sea level rise by 2100, according to projections from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Jacksonville, Fla.

Over just the last 14 years, the sea level in Jacksonville rose by 6 inches, tide gauge data shows. According to NOAA, another 9 inches of sea level rise is possible for much of Florida by 2050, which will result in a dramatic increase in flooding events. “Over the next century, Jacksonville will experience more coastal flooding due to sea level rise and from stronger coastal storms,” a 2023 report commissioned by the city stated. “The short-term impacts of sea level rise include increased risk of high tide flooding and storm surge.”

Charleston, S.C.

Since 2010, Charleston has experienced 7.4 inches of sea level rise, the Post reported. That’s more than half of the total 13 inches of rise measured by NOAA over the past 100 years. Like many cities where flooding worsened by sea level rise has become routine, Charleston has embarked on a plan to try to stay ahead of the rising waters, concluding that it will need to prepare for 1.5 feet of additional sea level rise by 2040 and 2.5 feet by 2060.

Miami Beach, Fla.

The ocean has risen by approximately 6 inches since 2000 on this barrier island, which has already begun raising roadways to mitigate flooding made worse by sea level rise.

“By 2040, sea levels are expected to be 10 to 17 inches higher than 2000 levels,” Miami-Dade County states on its website. Home to a dramatic skyline of hotels and apartment complexes, Miami Beach’s highest natural elevation is just 4.4 feet.

Savannah, Ga.

While downtown Savannah is approximately 18 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it has seen its share of affects from sea level rise due to its location on the Savannah River.

"A common misconception we see out there is that sea-level rise is only going to impact that spot where the ocean meets the shore or our beaches," Mark Risse, director of the University of Georgia Marine Extension and Sea Grant, told the Savanna Morning News in 2023. "When the sea level rises ... we have high tides that go way up the Savannah River. The tidally influenced areas of Georgia can go 15, 20 miles inland fairly easily."

Data from the tide gauge at Fort Pulaski, which is located down river on the coast, shows that sea level rose by 7.3 inches between 2010 and 2023. That has contributed to a marked increase in flooding in Savannah. A 2023 study by Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary found that sea level will rise another 1.5 feet in the city by 2050.

Wilmington, N.C.

The North Carolina coast near Wilmington has seen 7 inches of sea level rise since 2010, the Washington Post reported. A 2024 report from the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel concluded that, thanks in part to rising sea levels, Wilmington will experience 30 high-tide flooding days by 2050 and 323 by 2100.